The Nigerian Army has taken delivery of LPG cylinders manufactured by a Nigerian company for the flag off of its LPG Welfare Scheme, aimed at promoting LPG adoption among its officers and men.
The cylinders were produced at Techno Oil’s newly-built LPG manufacturing plant in Lagos, which started rolling out cylinders earlier this year.
The TechnoGas cylinders, which have since secured certifications by various agencies, including the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), are being produced in commercial quantities for Nigeria and overseas markets.
On April 11, the army inaugurated a scheme, known as the Nigerian Army Welfare by Guarantee Ltd., and followed up with the inauguration of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant at the Mambila Barracks in Abuja.
The event was witnessed by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, who directed that filling stations would henceforth, host LPG plants as part of efforts to deepen cooking gas usage in Nigeria.
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Speaking on the development in Lagos on Monday, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Techno Oil Group, Mrs. Nkechi Obi, told reporters that the interest shown by the army in LPG adoption was pivotal in the campaign to promote the use of cleaner energy.
She noted that Techno Oil Group had positioned adequately to meet Nigeria’s cylinder needs with the commencement of commercial production of high quality cylinders at the company’s LPG manufacturing plant.
Obi said that Techno Oil could supply any quantity of cylinders desired at the army’s micro-distribution centres, which were established to make officers and men to have easy access to LPG facilities.
According to her, the Techno Oil cylinder manufacturing plant has capacity to produce up to five million LPG cylinders annually, to meet domestic and export needs.
She decried what she described as the high level of sub-standard and used cylinders being imported into the country by unscrupulous businessmen.
Obi said that her plant had been producing different sizes of cylinders and that the plant was built with complete production facilities with a modern laboratory as well as a testing equipment.
The industrialist expressed her excitement on the interest shown by the army in the LPG adoption drive, saying that the development would stimulate LPG interest among other key national institutions.
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“We are calling on other government agencies, ministries and departments to emulate the army’s gesture of patronising locally-made cylinders and accessories.
“We are ever ready to collaborate with any agency or institution in our bid to deepen LPG adoption in Nigeria,’’ she said.
The executive vice-chairman, however, appealed for government’s support and incentives, to encourage affordability of cylinders to sustain the country’s LPG adoption programme.
Obi also called on government to put stringent measures in place to check importation of LPG cylinders to discourage capital flight.
Techno Oil blazed the trail a few years ago by embarking on local manufacturing of LPG cylinders as part of measures to deepen LPG adoption in the country.
The company has after securing SON certification, obtained the agency’s compulsory MANCAP certification.
The certification was given to Techno Oil after the company successfully completed SON’s rigorous Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme. (NAN)
